


One of Us

by Polska_1999, SpaceKeet



Category: DreamWorks Dragons (Cartoon), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Original Character(s), What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-24
Updated: 2018-05-26
Packaged: 2019-04-27 04:45:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14417970
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Polska_1999/pseuds/Polska_1999, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpaceKeet/pseuds/SpaceKeet
Summary: When Hiccup manages to save Viggo Grimborn after the fiasco of Triple Cross, bringing him to Berk seems to be the most reasonable course of action. Unfortunately, danger looms on the horizon as the Hooligans must once more alter the focus of their war as new forces surface. The war is escalating with no end in sight; on top of this, Viggo receives disturbing news regarding events in a place he had forsaken for his war with the Riders — his home.Will the Dragon Riders and their allies successfully learn to adapt to the ever-changing game, or will they all perish?





	1. Safe and Sound

Astrid waited at the landing strip anxiously. Hiccup has been gone a while, far longer than she expected him to be gone for after he had received the letter from Stoick about the lens for the Dragon Eye. Somehow, she found herself really mistrusting of that letter, despite the fact that it had left her upset enough after it interrupted her planned picnic with Hiccup — well, the twins did that too, anyways… Speaking of those two troublemakers, Astrid had no clue where they were, either.

After about half an hour, she sees a dragon on the horizon. Alas, it proves to not be a night fury with a one-legged rider but instead a zippleback with two riders that often act like they share only one brain amongst themselves. Astrid sighed to herself as she watched the two twins roughly make contact with the boards on the landing strip, seeming to be celebrating something. 

“Where have you two been?” she questioned, rather displeased.

“Setting a record and having Hiccup witness it, duh!” Ruffnut announced, as if it were obvious. 

“It was great! We were going for the gassiest to record, but he said it was also the biggest explosion ever seen, so now we have two records!” Tuffnut exclaimed as he hopped off of his dragon with his sister. Then, he gasped with realization. “Wait, two records... Why stop there!? We could get tons of records! Whole book of records!”

Astrid looks unimpressed. “And where is he?”

“Where is who?” Tuffnut asked confusedly.

“Hiccup! Where is Hiccup?” Astrid almost yelled, beginning to lose her cool.

“Oh, Hiccup... I think he went back to Berk for something,” Tuffnut responded, thinking. 

“He said for us to tell you not to worry, that he will return to the Edge in a few days,” Ruffnut said. 

Astrid groaned. Sometimes, her boyfriend was impossible to figure out. Why return to Berk? Did something happen, was he hurt and needed to see Gothi? Was there something the twins were leaving out, or were they maybe even just blatantly lying? No, that can't be true — the twins would not lie to her about something as serious as this, right? Well, at least she hope they wouldn't. Nevertheless, she considered going out to Berk to make sure that Hiccup is okay.However, she could not leave all of the others alone on the edge, which presented some conflicting motives for her. Should she check on Hiccup, or should she trust him and simply continue to watch over the over things on the Edge? 

“Man, but did you see how how Viggo looked? He did not look good at all!” Tuffnut exclaimed, which made Astrid’s head snap up to look at the twin.

“Wait, did you just say that  _ Viggo  _ was with Hiccup?” Astrid asked, not quite believing her ears. Dang it, she should have known that the letter was only a trap, especially with how it seemed fishy that Stoick would ask Hiccup to go alone on a mission like this. She already knew that Viggo is alive, but she had not been expecting him to confront Hiccup once more. Wasn't getting knocked into a volcano enough for him? 

“Oh man, you totally missed it, Astrid! Viggo has this wicked scar on half of his face and everything!” Tuffnut exclaimed, as if he didn’t see the severity of the situation.

“Yeah, it was so cool! I bet it was from that time when he fell into the volcano here on Dragons' Edge,” Ruffnut added.

“And then those arrows? They totally made him look like some sort of epic hero or martyr. I mean, those just totally made the look seem so... Real!” 

Astrid was starting to wonder if this was all just a dream. Viggo, with arrows in his back and presumably with Hiccup? None of this made any sense. Had Viggo tried to hurt Hiccup and the twins somehow got their hands on bows and managed to actually shoot them straight and hit Viggo? No, that seems too impossible, even for a dream or nightmare. Why would Viggo have arrows in his back? Astrid cannot think of any logical explanation.I mean, there is no way Viggo would have taken not just one but multiple arrows to the back in order to protect his adversary. 

“I think you guys need to get some sleep,” Astrid commented. She began to lead the two twins away, heading to their hut so that they can rest. They're probably just delusional — come morning, she might be able to get a better and more exact story out of them, one that did not involve the embellishment created by an exhausted state of mind. 

Hiccup was freaking out as Toothless flew towards Berk. He prays to whatever Gods may be listening that the wounded ex-hunter behind him does not pass out or fall off of the dragon's back. He urges the Night Fury to go faster, to get to Berk before the cover of darkness is lifted so that he can sneak into the village without having to explain to anyone, namely his father, why he has one of his worst enemies with him. Oh, and it would also be good to not have to explain why there is a Skrill currently following him as well.

Hiccup feels the man behind him shift slightly with a painful groan. The boy almost cursed to himself, deeply hoping that Gothi will be able to see the logic in this idea, that she won't reject treating the hunter. He knew Viggo may not have much time — that much he had known from the moment that Viggo slumped against the table while they were still in Krogan's base, revealing that the hunter had several arrows stuck in his back. Hiccup does not like pushing his dragon to the limit, but right now, time was of the essence. As a result, he begs his dragon to go even faster, hoping that they can get to Berk quickly enough, that he can keep Viggo from dying before they even get there. 

It felt like an eternity before he saw the familiar island of Berk. He breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that while the ragged breaths behind him did not sound good in any way, they also meant that Viggo was still alive, still fighting. As Toothless began his descent down towards Gothi's Hut, Hiccup glanced behind him and noticed that the Skrill was still following them. It growled slightly as it glanced at Berk, which was a bit worrying, but ultimately it did not fire any blasts. For this, Hiccup was incredibly grateful, because if the Skrill had attacked, then it would have undoubtedly woken up the entire village, including his father. That would not have been a fun conversation, especially considering who Hiccup had with him.

Hiccup had Toothless land smoothly and as close as possible to the door to Gothi’s hut. Hiccup hopped off, motioning for his dragon to stay put. He did not address Viggo, knowing that the hunter would likely be unable to move from his spot anyways. At most, Viggo slumped forward slightly when Hiccup moved off. Quietly yet loudly, Hiccup knocked on the door to Gothi’s hut, praying that the old woman wakes up and is not in a bad mood. Thankfully, his prayers seem at least partially answered as the door opens. 

“Gothi, please, I know this looks bad, but I need you to help me, to help Viggo. He is hurt, he got hurt saving my life, and we need to save his now,” Hiccup explained quickly, not giving the woman time to form judgements on the matter without an explanation. 

The old women only needed one glance at the hunter to see the dire nature of the situation. She nodded slightly to Hiccup, not writing anything with her staff in the ground, and went over to help Viggo off of the dragon. Hiccup helped as well, and the two quickly maneuvered the hunter into her hut, where she can start working on helping him. Hiccup allowed himself to sigh in relief; the village healer has not rejected his idea of helping the hunter. Now, all he had to do was make sure that his father does not find out about this. After all, before he became known as Stoick the Vast, people had considered calling the Hooligan Chief as Stoick the Vindictive, and for good reason. Hiccup knew that his father will not be forgiving, no matter how much Hiccup tries to explain the situation to him. It's just how his father is. 

With Viggo being taken care of by Gothi, Hiccup had another thing to deal with before the morning sun rose. He went back out to Toothless, getting onto the dragon and having him fly up to the Skrill that is currently flying around Gothi’s hut. The Skrill roared at them, not happy that it's rider is nowhere in its line of sight. Hiccup knew that Skrills are extremely territorial, but he also knew that Viggo needed to be taken care of properly. Thus, the Skrill could not go see its rider, for it would not fit in Gothi’s hut and would only make caring for Viggo even more troublesome than it already is. 

“I can't believe I'm doing this,” Hiccup said to himself. He then raised his voice slightly — but not too much — to call out to the Skrill, “Hey, uh, Skrill! I know you're probably worried about your Rider, but trust me, he is being well taken care of — I promise. I can't let the others see you though, for they would probably attack.”

The Skrill roared its agreement, not really too keen on having others see it either. 

Hiccup smiled slightly. “Well, looks like we're on the same page, then. Follow us, we'll take you somewhere safe and nearby.” Then, he said more quietly to his own dragon, “Alright, bud. Let's head to the cove.”

Thankfully, despite the presence of a pond in the cove, the Skrill seemed to be okay with staying there, probably because it can remain close to its rider without being disturbed by other people. Hiccup just reminded the dragon to stay out of sight and not attack anything, and for once it seemed that the Skrill would actually listen to him, unlike in their past meetings. Maybe he still had a lot to learn from Viggo, especially since Viggo managed to somehow go from “Dragon Hunter” to “Skrill Tamer” in the space of (presumably) a few days. Without further ado, Hiccup and Toothless flew back to Berk, planning on making up some sort of excuse to Hiccup’s father before going to bed in their home to sleep off the long, stressful, and confusing day that had been packed to the brim with surprises at every possible corner.

Stoick the Vast may have been a bit surprised by his son's presence on Berk, but he welcomed it nonetheless. When asked, the boy had simply said that he had been searching for a Dragon Eye lens in the area based on a tip-off from one of his other allies. It was a viable explanation (and in reality rather close to the truth), so Stoick accepted it, letting the boy and dragon rest. After all, the flight from Dragon’s Edge to Berk is sometimes unforgiving, long, and arduous, especially if there is any bad weather along the way. 

In the Stoick’s opinion, Hiccup’s odd behavior did not really begin until morning. When Stoick announced that he was going to go see for advice, Hiccup instead offered to go himself, which is very unusual for the boy, Seeing that he spends most of his time away from any Chiefing duties whenever possible. However, the chief did not question it, deciding that it might be good practice for his son and heir. And so, he tells the boy what to do and sends him off. 

Naturally, Hiccup used this as an excuse in order to check up on Viggo Grimborn. He asked Gothi about the advice his father needs first, but after that, he focused on the wounded ex dragon hunter. The village elder said that Viggo will heal, but it will take a bit of time and lots of proper medical care. Sure enough, Viggo looks a little bit better compared to how he looked when Hiccup first got him to Gothi during the night, but he still has a long way to go in terms of recovery. Seeing that he wasn't in a rush, he decided to stay a few minutes, even if the dragon hunter was not awake. Hiccup himself had not slept much that night, too focused on mulling over the events of the previous day. 

Having Viggo as an ally would be a tremendous benefit to the Dragon Riders, especially considering that Viggo now also has a Skrill. Viggo’s tactical genius and dragon knowledge could prove very useful in the war against Johann and Krogan. With Viggo switching sides, the Dragon Hunters do not stand any chances, for Viggo had most likely been their main strategist as well. Of course, Hiccup is well aware of the deal he had made with Viggo earlier, that Viggo would disappear once Hiccup had helped him, but they technically did not get the Dragon Eye back, so maybe the deal will not be followed? I mean, despite everything, Viggo had changed. He learned to see dragons as equals, which means that he and Hiccup would no longer come into conflict and could simply be allies, or at least acquaintances. Either way, Hiccup found himself not wanting Viggo to disappear and never to be heard from again. 

Hiccup is aware that the other Riders will likely not see his reasoning, that after the last fiasco with Viggo that ended up with Hiccup throwing the Dragon Eye into the volcano, they would have a hard time trusting the ex-hunter. However, they will still not be as hard to convince as Hiccup's own father. Part of Hiccup wonders if his father will ever trust Viggo, no matter what Hiccup says or does or how hard he tries to make his dad see the truth. 

As much as Hiccup would love to stick around longer, he soon left, not wanting to make his father suspicious. He also asks Gothi to send him a discrete and ambiguous Terror mail if Viggo were to wake up, one that would not reveal the Hunter's identity if it were to fall into the wrong hands. With that, Hiccup left to go report to his father and inform him of Gothi’s advice. The rest of the day becomes fairly bland, and while he does enjoy being with his father (being so far from home has left him often missing his father), he is also incredibly worried about the hunter currently receiving secret medical attention in Gothi’s hut. Hopefully, Viggo will be well enough to leave as soon as possible, without anyone else knowing that he was even here to begin with. 

After dinner, Hiccup slipped out to visit the village elder once more, wanting to check in one more time on the hunter before heading to bed. Of course, his dragon follows him everywhere, as is common with the Night Fury. This time, Hiccup is in for a small surprise, for the Maces and Talons obsessed hunter is awake when he visits. He finds the scene he walks in on rather interesting, for Viggo had managed to get his hands on a Maces and Talons board from Thor knows where and is currently teaching the village elder how to play it well and efficiently. Surprisingly he also seems to understand her scribbles, which is a skill that not a lot of people in the tribe have, much less beyond the tribe. 

Hiccup cleared his throat upon entering the hut, getting the attention of both the Healer and the Hunter. “So, I see you're feeling better,” Hiccup commented as he leaned against the doorframe. 

“Compared to how I felt after taking four arrows to the back, yes,” Viggo responded, moving one of his pieces on the Maces and Talons board. “And most certainly much better than during the flight to this island.”

“Yeah, sorry about that,” Hiccup said sheepishly, watching the village elder make her move on the board. 

“How's the Skrill?” Viggo asked absent-mindedly, focused on the game. He moved one of his pieces, and Hiccup can see a bit of anger bubbling within the village elder as she realizes that she had been fooled and thus lost. 

“It's well,” Hiccup answered. “I took him to the Cove, where no one should be disturbing him, hopefully.”

Gothi rises from her seat, Using her staff to draw some sort of ruins into the dirty ground. Hiccup moves over to examine the ruins, craning his neck so he won’t have to look at them sideways as he begins reading them aloud, “The Hunter is okay, but he should remain heated-”

“Here,” Viggo corrected Hiccup before Gothi could use her staff to whack the boy as she does with Gobber. 

“Right, thanks,” Hiccup was glad to not get whacked. He continued reading, “But he should remain here for the next two days just to make sure his injuries do not worsen.” Upon reading this, Hiccup groaned. Two days? That's so long, giving plenty of time for his father to accidentally find out about Viggo. 

“I expected longer,” Viggo commented.

“It's still too long,” Hiccup said. “My dad could come in here at any moment. He was already planning on visiting Gothi earlier.” 

“Then you'll just need to keep him busy, won't you?”

At that moment, Hiccup knew — the upcoming two days would not be easy for him. 


	2. Trouble on the Home Front

The following day, Stoick found Hiccup’s actions only even more bizarre. The boy would not do just any chiefing work; instead, Hiccup would only do tasks that involved speaking with Gothi. Otherwise, he spent the majority of the day at his father's side, helping with things on the spot rather than dealing with other matters on his own. Perhaps most shockingly, Hiccup did not go on the morning flight with Toothless either when he woke up late in the morning. Even more surprisingly, the dragon did not complain, as if it knew that something was astray. 

Alas, when Stoick attempted to pressure some information out of Hiccup during the dinner that day, all he got was that Hiccup missed being on Berk and missed his father, and so he wanted to spend time with the chief rather than do stuff on his own. When Stoick asked about why Hiccup was willing to do tasks that involves seeing Gothi alone, Hiccup cryptically answered that he had the things of his own to ask the village elder, things that he did not really want his dad knowing too much about. At this, of course, the chief thought that it might have something to do with Hiccup’s relationship with Astrid Hofferson. Maybe Stoick should expect grandkids in the near future?... 

Hiccup went to bed rather quickly, namely at the first opportunity he could get. One more day, just one more day and Viggo will be able to leave Berk and Hiccup won't have to keep trying to keep his father away from the village elder’s hut. He fell asleep rather easily, exhausted from the long day. Being a chief is no easy task, and frankly, he prefers dealing with dragons than people at times. 

Come morning, another surprise awaits him when he visits Gothi’s hut; namely, it's in the form of a two-limbed Viking that is currently conversing very loudly with Viggo just outside Gothi’s hut. Hiccup had Toothless quickly land, expecting and prepared for the worst-case scenario. 

“I mus’ say, th’ blade’s quite th’ handiwork. Somethin’ similar t’ wha’ Hiccup’d make.” Those are the words Hiccup hears from Gobber as he lands, and for a moment, he’s very confused. Viggo and Gobber, getting along? He must still be asleep and dreaming. Gobber is currently examining Viggo’s version of Inferno. Based on his slightly charred beard, Gobber must have already accidentally turned the blade on. Yeah, sure seems like something Gobber would do, alright; the horrible smell of Gobber’s burnt hairs is repulsive enough to convince Hiccup that this is not a dream. 

Hiccup’s arrival disrupted the conversation. Hiccup commented dumbly in shock, “Uhhh… I’m surprised to see you two, you know, not trying to fight…”

“Oh, ye jus’ missed it, lad,” Gobber said, “tha’ ‘appened earlier, bu’ th’ old woman gave me a good whackin’ fo’ it.”

Hiccup is really fortunate to have Gothi on his side. He chose to comment half-jokingly, “I’m surprised you two aren’t playing Maces and Talons.”

Viggo ignored the jest, instead commenting, “I derive no pleasure from playing against opponents I could defeat in five turns.”

Hiccup just fixed a cold, hard glare at the ex-hunter and said, “Well, good to know those arrows haven’t taken away from your horrible attitude.”

“I am simply observant.”

Gobber chose to butt in, “Five moves? Yer bein’ generous. Fou’ or three’s more like i’.”

Few things in life manage to get Hiccup to show his darker and more violent side. It just so happens that Viggo’s smug smirks are among those few things, and if Viggo wasn’t recovering from a near-fatal wound, Hiccup would have at the very least elbowed him. Instead, Hiccup simply took a few breaths before changing the topic. “Viggo, you should probably go back inside.”

Gobber suddenly commented, “ye know, Hiccup, I’ll never understand ‘ow ye got Stoick t’ let Viggo Grimborn ont’ Berk…” Gobber trailed off as he noticed Hiccup’s expression. “Ah, so this’s one o’ them ‘Stoick doesn’ know’ momen’s, I assume…”

“Gobber, wasn’t dad originally going to be called ‘Stoick the Vindictive’?” Hiccup reminded Gobber.

“Aye, an’ before tha’ they considered ‘Stoick the Unforgivin’, too, bu’ it didn’ have th’ ring t’ it.” 

“Great.” 

* * *

 

Stoick was at home. The village seemed calm enough today, allowing him to spend a few extra minutes in bed before needing to get up. He took his sweet time with getting up and getting dressed, sitting down for breakfast around the time he usually would already be out of the house and handling stuff. Hiccup is probably out with Toothless on a morning flight, and there’s no knocking on his door, so even Mildew must have taken a break for today. Alas, he found his breakfast rudely interrupted when a Terrible Terror suddenly crashed on the dining table and almost spilled his stew. He almost made it shoo, but upon noticing that it’s one of the Terrors from Dragon’s Edge, he chose to read the letter, which was surprisingly addressed to him and not to his son. 

“Stoick, is Hiccup there and safe? He also apparently brought an injured Viggo there, according to the ramblings of the twins. I can't understand what Hiccup is thinking, could you find out for me please? Hiccup probably knows something. This doesn't make sense. Just try not to kill your son. -A.H.” 

Time froze. Stoick’s breakfast found itself forgotten on the table as the Chief rose from his seat. Has his boy lost his mind, bringing that evil madman here!? Stoick cannot stand for this. What if the man is influencing his boy, playing dirty mind tricks like he has many times in the past? Stoick remembers all of the things Viggo has done, from starving Stoick’s tribe to attempting to drown his son, from trying to kill the riders and sell their dragons to pushing Hiccup to an edge of insanity that had left even Dagur the Deranged worried. 

Given that the twins’ story is true and Viggo is injured, then Stoick now understood why Hiccup did not want the Chief to go to Gothi’s hut — that must be there the self-proclaimed “businessman” is. The Chief of Berk growled as he exited his house, calling for his dragon. He refuses to let this evil hunter harm his son or his tribe ever again. By the time Stoick is through with him, the prisons of Outcast Island will seem like Valhalla in comparison. 

* * *

 

Gobber was about to leave Gothi’s hut when he noticed something. “‘Ey, Hiccup? Ye may wanna move Viggo out o’ here.”

“Why?” Hiccup had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer to this, but he asked anyways. 

“Well, yer father an’ Skullcrusher are headin’ o’er here, an’ the Chief’s lookin’ a bit like vintage Stoick th’ Vast, if ye catch my drift,” Gobber said.

Gothi crossed her arms with a glare, her staff ready for some whacking. She motioned for Hiccup and Viggo to leave, and it’s clear that she wants to “talk” with Stoick. 

“Oh for the love of-” Hiccup cut himself short there, deciding there was no time to lose. “Let’s go, hopefully we’ll get a good enough head start on my dad.”

“I’ll cover fer ye,” Gobber offered. “Jus’ let me borrow one o’ them swords.”

Hiccup tossed his version of Inferno to Gobber before Viggo could hand his over. There’s no need for a verbal explanation — Hiccup knows that he won’t be the one needing a weapon if caught. Viggo is not in good shape, but if needed, some of the functionality on his blade could prove crucial if a quick and sudden escape proves necessary. Hiccup led the ex-hunter out of the hut and quickly got them both situated onto Toothless before having the dragon fly off.

“Hiccup!” Stoick’s yell could be heard as the Night Fury took off into the sky. Hiccup winced, both at the yell and at the pained grunt behind him. He offered only a silent, mental apology as he switched the position of Toothless’s tailfin. Hiccup’s heart is beating as if he just ran a lap around the entire island, and Viggo’s current death grip on him is not helping the matter. There’s also the fact that Viggo is grabbing onto his waist, which is rather awkward, but given the circumstances, Hiccup will just let it go and never bring it up. At least Viggo isn’t getting airsick or anything, yet at least, unlike how some of the others do when flying on Toothless at high speeds. 

Hiccup almost sighed in relief, but as a stream of fire suddenly passes by overhead, he realizes he may have almost spoken too soon. He glances back and realizes that he has a problem. Or, rather, that he has the entire auxiliary team on his tail. Spitelout’s Nadder had only barely missed the Night Fury with that blast, making Hiccup wonder if his dad really wants him dead or something.

“Spitelout, we’re supposed to shoot them down, not barbeque them!” Hiccup heard Gustav protest. Oh, that’s wonderful. 

Viggo’s grip has loosened slightly, but Hiccup knows that it won’t remain loose for long, not with Hiccup now having to worry about doing evasive maneuvers against the A-Team while heading to the cove. Hiccup calls to the ex-hunter behind him as he tightens his own grip on the saddle, “Hang on!”

Viggo grunts, tightening his grip around Hiccup's waist, preparing for the rider to call out the next command he knew was coming. 

Without further ado, Hiccup yells to his dragon, “Toothless, evasive maneuvers!” He doesn’t specify which ones because that would only make this easier for the A-Team to catch him, as they are familiar with the terminology. Thankfully, Toothless and Hiccup don’t need words to work together. The Night Fury shot up into the sky vertically, spinning, before diving back down and breaking through the ranks of the A-Team, temporarily losing them as they could not move their dragons out of the ascent quickly enough. 

Viggo's prevents himself from falling out of the saddle by hanging onto it so that he's not fully holding onto Hiccup. He feels pain spread up his back, on his spine where two of the arrows hit. 

There’s more spinning and dodging involved as they fly, for Toothless is weighed down more than usual due to having two riders on his back, which slows him down. At one point, they barely manage to avoid a cloud of Zippleback gas from Whip and Lash. However, as they dodge a fire blast from Fanghook, Hiccup noticed that the blast had been almost as if meant to miss them and instead hit- oh no. Fanghook set the prosthetic tailfin on fire. And here Hiccup thought the day couldn’t get any worse already. “Come on, Toothless, just a little farther!” Hiccup urged his dragon, knowing the cove is not far now…

Viggo looked over his right shoulder, wincing slightly as he looks to Toothless’ tail, the prosthetic fin destroyed and a look of worry crosses his face and he hopes they're not far from their destination. 

Toothless is unable to maintain his balance in the air, and there’s a combined scream as the group goes down. As the front rider, Hiccup takes the brunt of it, actually being ripped up and off of the saddle by a branch as they slam into a tree. He ends up stuck there, hanging upside down by his harness. His prosthetic had been completely destroyed in the fall and is now more worthless than scrap metal. In the meantime, Toothless managed to break Viggo’s fall at least.

Toothless glanced up at his rider with a sad warble. 

“Go, Toothless!” Hiccup yelled, knowing that Viggo will be far better off if the A-Team finds only Hiccup instead of all three of them.

Toothless warbled again before looking to the injured hunter and forcing him onto the dragon’s back. Toothless sets off on foot, using his wings to glide small distances and aid his jumps if needed, but never anything that could cause them to crash and sustain more injuries. Viggo had to compensate for the on foot run, looking over his shoulder he finds himself worrying for the boy. 

Toothless roars loudly, a distress call to the Skrill that’s in the cove. 

* * *

 

Hiccup closed his eyes as he hung from the tree, his vision starting to blur a bit. There’s a bit of pain in his side, meaning that he likely got scraped or stabbed by a branch. When he heard the sound of Fanghook landing nearby, he yelled, “Over here, Gustav!”

The boy soon appeared, still on the back of the Monstrous Nightmare. Gustav looked around the clearing, confused as to where the rider and heir was. “Uh, Hiccup?”

“Look above you!” Hiccup’s voice sounded rather annoyed. “And… get me down, please. I think I took a branch or something sharp to the side.”

Gustav looked up towards the source of the voice and found himself regretting the action almost immediately. A drop of Hiccup’s blood had chosen to drip down at that precise moment, falling against Gustav’s forehead. At that moment, Gustav did the only thing a kid his age would do in such a situation — he screamed bloody murder. That got the attention of the rest of the A-Team almost immediately, including Stoick, who had managed to catch up with them by then. Hiccup has no clue how his day could ever get any worse as he hears his father’s worried yells from below. He just hopes he’s brought back down to the ground soon. 

Unfortunately, Hiccup passed out before he could speak to his father and beg for the Chief to not kill the ex-hunter. Even more unfortunately, Hiccup passing out has made Stoick only blame the hunter even more, which means that Stoick is now out for blood. Bucket and Mulch are sent to get Hiccup to Gothi so his wounds can be assessed and taken care of. Stoick needs the rest of the A-Team to make sure that their prey doesn’t escape.

* * *

 

The Skrill easily finds Toothless and Viggo, trilling with worry at the ex-hunter slightly slumped over the Night Fury's back. Viggo looks over his shoulder, knowing that the rest of the other riders will soon pursue them, biting down the pain he steels himself; he can focus on recovering later, right now he actually needs to live. 

He looks to Toothless then the Skrill, “Let's get out of here, lose their trail,” he says, knowing that both dragons can understand him fully because of their intelligence. 

Toothless snorts in determination before padding ahead, the Skrill mixing up the tracks with some air from his wings as the trio work their way ahead. Viggo remembers the dragon that Stoick was riding, not stopping the irritated groan as he realised his half-assed plan might not go as well as expected. He's really out of the game — first Johann, now Stoick... he really needs to work on his improvement. He didn’t die by angry rat-face and Jo-ho traitor, though, and he refuses to meet his death at the hands of someone who relies on strength over smarts. 

The Skrill was now walking alongside Toothless, checking Viggo's back and letting out an alarmed screech; Viggo moves one of his hands to his back, touching the bandages above his lower spine. He pulls his hand away once he feels something sticky, looking at the blood on his fingers as he sighs. He would have preferred Stoick not finding him in this critical of a condition. 

Toothless had stopped when the Skrill let out the small screech (one that thankfully didn't echo throughout the entire forest), looking at Viggo expectantly and warbling in worry at the blood. At seeing that Viggo is mostly okay, the Night Fury continues ahead, stopping suddenly when a blast connects in front of the trio. Viggo looking up at a very angry Stoick. He amends that previous thought: he's not angry, he looks pissed enough to send the ex-hunter into Valhalla himself, and Viggo is certain that Hiccup sending Toothless away with him did not help diplomatic matters. 

Skullcrusher charges a blast as Stoick glares at him, “Any last words before I blast you off of Toothless?” he snarls. 

“Yes,” Viggo starts, turning his head to the bristling Skrill he catches his attention, “dragon, get him off of us, I'm sure you can catch up later,” he says, the Skrill screeching in confirmation, flying into the air to give chase to Stoick while Toothless continues his trek, this time faster. 

Soon they make it to the Cove, Toothless taking the slightly longer way down instead of just jumping down and causing more harm to Viggo. Once safely in the Cove, Viggo considers whether he should dismount from Toothless and risk his knees giving out from under him. 

A rustle of wings and a blast of warm air being snorted into his face tells him that the Skrill made it, clearly. He scans the forest above the Cove for signs of Stoick, Toothless and the Skrill doing the same. 

Rather abruptly and from his left, he gets smacked off of Toothless with Skullcrusher’s tail, landing hard into the dirt and skidding a few feet on his back, letting out a cry of pain at the impact. The Skrill moves to defend him, going to attack Stoick, when Skullcrusher engages with the other dragon, snapping at him, the Skrill having no choice but to fight the Rumblehorn. 

As Stoick strides towards the downed hunter, who's struggling greatly to get up, the Berk chief begins to raise his sword and quickened his pace. Toothless tries not to interfere, hoping Hiccup gets here soon. He knows to fear Stoick when he's this angry. 

As Stoick is facing the pained expression of Viggo Grimborn, he raises his sword and goes to strike. However, instead of meeting soft flesh, Stoick’s blade hits something hard and metal as a blur suddenly falls from the sky with a yell of “Don’t!” Hiccup had dropped out of the sky from seemingly nowhere, barely conscious and unable to stand properly. His shield, which he can barely hold up despite it being lightweight thanks to Gronckle Iron, had been what blocked Stoick’s blow. Hiccup’s still bleeding badly from his side, something Viggo notices as well. This is blocked from Stoick’s view by the shield, but Stoick also hasn’t seen Hiccup this pale since the Red Death incident and knows something is wrong. 

Stoick narrows his eyes, “What did he do you?” he asked, trying to keep his anger down but it was rising at the hunter that's currently behind his son for some reason. Hiccup would answer, but just standing is taking up so much effort, and he already used up all of his talking energy in begging Gothi to let him go with her to find and help Viggo.

He growls — Viggo will pay. He steps forward to gently shove his son away when something very hard wallops him on the shin, getting him away from both his son and the hunter that is watching Hiccup with concern, seemingly fighting something back himself. Gothi had hopped off of her dragon, seething in anger, and is now taking it out on her idiotic, stupid, stubborn, unruly Chief. She still has to whack him extra for that time he said she plows like an old woman, since Hiccup refused to pass on her crude-but-honest message to the Chief. 

Viggo was hoping that if Hiccup passes out, it’s not on him, he can feel the cracked ribs sustained from Skullcrusher’s tail, along with his entire back screaming at him from how hard he landed; he feels like he's going to pass out himself. 

Unfortunately, when Hiccup does pass out, it is on Viggo — slightly. The boy sways before crumpling completely, most of his weight coming down on Viggo’s leg, and that includes the shield. Now this, this worries Toothless a lot, for he knows that it’s very bad if Hiccup’s skin is this pale. It means the human has lost a lot of blood, too much blood. 

Viggo had let out a pained groan when boy and shield come into contact with his legs, the shield slamming into his right shin, and he was unfortunately not wearing his shin guards so he knows that's going to bruise painfully. He starts to feel himself slip, just before he does so he finds the injury Hiccup sustained and tries to stop the bleeding with the boy’s tunic before promptly passing out. 

Gothi’s gronckle roars to the two strike class dragons, a roar that basically tells them to get the two humans back to the healer’s hut. Gothi will catch up once she’s done whacking Stoick, which will only take a few more moments, based on how she has the Chief practically begging for mercy by now. 

The Skrill and Skullcrusher stopped fighting when Stoick began to get whacked by Gothi, the Skrill stopping because he was worried for the one that saved him. At the Gronkle’s roar he leaps over to Hiccup and Viggo, both thoroughly passed out. Toothless soon joined him, the dragons beginning to chitter to each other, figuring out how to move both their riders with Toothless unable to fly. 

Once Gothi finishes the whacking, she invites herself onto Skullcrusher’s back because he’s faster than her Gronckle. Even the dragons know to respect the viking elder, after all. She waves her staff around, a signal to her dragon to go home. Yeah, she plans on having Stoick walk back to the village as a lesson to listen next time. The Gronckle hovers over to Toothless, offering to help the Night Fury.

The Skrill nods, aiming to carry both of the passed out humans with him. Moving Hiccup away, he grabs Viggo by the bandages and hoists him onto his neck with some help from his wing and Toothless. The Skrill lifts off, grabbing Hiccup gently in his talons; he circles around the Cove and rises out, and Gothi’s Gronkle (holding Toothless) soon follows Gothi back to her hut. 

Stoick is left to mull over what in the name of Odin’s ghost just happened as he is forced to walk back across the island, sore from taking so many blows from Gothi’s staff. First his son brought home an injured Viggo (without telling him) then he got Gothi and Gobber involved in keeping the man a secret, what in Odin's name is going on? 


	3. A Second Chance

Many hours later, emerald eyes begin to slowly open as Hiccup regains consciousness, laying on a bed in Gothi’s hut and wrapped in bandages. A pained groan escapes his lips when he attempts to shift, a sudden pain flaring in his side with the intensity of a plasma blast, along with another pain that is blossoming elsewhere. Great. Looks like moving around is out of the question. He tries to move his head at least, to look around the hut. Gothi is working on something in the corner, Viggo is on another nearby bed, and Toothless and the Skrill have both been allowed into the hut (presumably under the condition they do not break anything or disturb Gothi). The Skrill learned quite quickly to respect the tiny old human woman. Very quickly. His snout is still a bit sore. Toothless had found it amusing until he too remembered that he learned the lesson the same way. 

“Awake finally?”comes Viggo's question, having heard the boy move despite his bed being on the ex-hunter’s bad side. 

Unfortunately, Viggo is about to discover that a tired Hiccup is also a sassy Hiccup, and that means he’s sassier than normal somehow. “Yeah. You still have all of your ribs?”

The sass certainly did come as a surprise to the hunter, causing him to blink, his brain stalling slightly as he thinks of something to say. “Yes I do, as a matter of fact, my shin hurts though so I have you to thank for that,” Viggo can also be rather sassy, especially in moments of being in pain. 

“You’re welcome. I can also thank you for downing me and Toothless more efficiently than you ever did when we were enemies.” Yeah, Hiccup is bringing out the big guns here. It was because of Viggo they got shot down in the first place, and Hiccup gets cranky when you try grounding him. “What, did you forget all about strategizing while being chased by my dad, or is Maces and Talons only useful for infuriating people?”

A vein under Viggo's eye twitches, “I was thinking of strategies, but unfortunately I need to work on my improvisation since I've grown rusty at that,” he says, clearly irked and trying to keep his frustration down. 

“I mean, at that point, you probably could have thrown game pieces at my dad and it would have gone better.” Hiccup’s comment reminds Viggo of something all too familiar, something that trash rat-face Krogan had once said to mock Viggo. Now, there’s no way Hiccup could know about the specific incident, but it does make Viggo’s blood boil slightly. 

He growls slightly at the memory, but the rational side soon comes in to tell him there's no way Hiccup knew. Viggo at this point wanted to rest since his back is killing him and he's currently laying on it. 

There’s some beautiful peace and quiet for a few moments before Hiccup shatters it once more with an upset groan of boredom and pain.  

Viggo matches his groan. “Sleep!” comes his remark, the Night Fury rider’s groan having woken him up from just beginning to drift off. 

“I would if it was that easy!” Hiccup actually snaps back, raising his voice enough to awaken the dragons a bit. It’s yet another uncharacteristic action on the boy’s part, showing that he’s really not okay with the current situation. 

“I am in more pain than you are right now, you and your dad ripped open every stitch on my back, and I have nearly fallen asleep before your groan,” Viggo retorts, clearly very irritated. 

“I don’t feel like arguing who is or isn’t in more pain. The main difference between you and me is that all of your pain is in parts of your body that you actually have!” That second pain Hiccup is experiencing has began to overtake the pain in his side in terms of intensity. 

Viggo didn't know what to say to begin with, but he had an inkling he knew what the boy was implying. The ex-hunter just wanted to sleep off his pain and get better, but the boy was being quite adamant to prevent him from resting. “I don't care, I want to sleep and you're preventing me from doing that and I'd like to sleep this pain off so that I can recover. You wanted me alive, this is your plan.”

In reality, Hiccup doesn’t mean to make Viggo suffer. He just needs a distraction or something. Anything, really, because right now he keeps focusing on the pain in his missing leg despite trying incredibly hard not to. “I wanted you alive, not for both of us to suffer.” Hiccup’s voice is now quieter as he speaks, as if he wanted for that statement to go unheard, “I would have kept you from falling into the volcano if I could have, too, even if I hated you more than I hated anyone else at that moment.” Unfortunately, Viggo happens to have rather good hearing.

Viggo was quiet as he heard those, something confirming that yes, Hiccup would have stopped him from falling, he is nice, he wasn't lying to the kid when he said that. Unfortunately Hiccup doesn't know half of the pain he's experiencing right now, “Well I'm suffering now and I'm exhausted.” he says, also very quietly. 

“Could we… talk? Just for a few minutes?” Hiccup doesn’t say it outright, but he needs something else to focus on that isn’t his leg. He feels like he deserves to go to Helheim for asking that selfish question, and he definitely regrets having snapped earlier. 

“About what?” Viggo relents — if talking to the kid helps him, maybe it might help him forget his own pain in his back. 

“Anything.” Hiccup tries to think of a topic, then says, “How did you end up working for Krogan? Actually, how did you manage to survive falling into the volcano in the first place?” 

Viggo mulls over what to answer first, “I don't know how I survived the volcano, actually: luck, the gods, I don't know. But I lived. I wish I hadn't,” he doesn't go into details instead skipping straight to answering the first question, “he promised me vengeance, vengeance I wanted, but after working with him for a few days I realised he just wanted me and I focused less on fighting you and more on staying useful.” 

Hiccup notices Viggo’s unwillingness to go into detail, but the question slips past the young rider’s lips accidentally, quietly. “Do you miss him?” Hiccup doesn’t need to specify who “him” is. It clearly ain’t Krogan or Johann. 

“Yes.” The answer was equally as quiet and Hiccup had to strain a bit to register what he said. 

Hiccup goes quiet for a moment. “I’m sorry,” he suddenly says, knowing that the tensions between the brothers is at least partially, if not wholly, his fault. After all, much like he had been practically obsessed with taking down Viggo, the phenomenon was likely mutual. Thankfully, the other riders hadn’t let Hiccup’s obsession go that far… 

Viggo was also quiet for a moment as he thinks on Hiccup's apology. “Thank you, I'm sorry too,” he eventually says, the whole incident also being his fault as well. Nothing of course will bring ‘him’ back. 

“So, what’s next for you, after you’re healed?”

Way to ask the most difficult question in the history of questions. Viggo stares at the ceiling. “Honestly I didn't think I'd make it this far.”

“You… could stay, you know. Help us against Johann and Krogan,” Hiccup offers. “You don’t have to leave. But… I understand if you also want to return home.” Home — a lost thought, for Viggo. Not only had he abandoned his people and then faked his death, he failed to provide for them and let many more get killed in a war. 

“I will no longer be welcomed home,” comes Viggo's answer, though he says nothing about coming with the riders. “Your friends will have similar reactions to Stoick.”

“Okay, maybe Astrid might. And Heather, too. But the rest? Ruff and Tuff thought you were cool, and Fishlegs could probably handle it pretty well. Snotlout… I wish I knew what to say about how he’d react, but he can be really unpredictable at times. He didn’t hate you too much. And Dagur… if anyone knows the value of redemption, it’s him.” Hiccup tries to sound as inviting as possible.

“Astrid and Heather, I worry, may try to make my recovery….Short, we'll say,” he says rather easily, not having time to stop that worry floating out and to Hiccup's ears. 

“I won’t let them, Viggo. You’re one of us now, and we don’t harm our own.” Spoken like a true Chief, really. Berk is lucky to have such a heir, unlike the incredibly unwilling adopted heir Viggo currently has — well, had. That boy will probably want absolutely nothing to do with him by now. 

That thought causes a tear to well up in his right eye and he quickly wipes it away, he looks to the Skrill, snoozing away. His tribe also won't take too well to him switching businesses. Something crosses his mind, his Skrill requires a name, something that he'll be thinking on for a while of course. “Thank you.”

“And, if there is any way we can help your tribe, then as long as it’s within reason, I’ll do it, even if it has to be behind my dad’s back.” Hiccup means it, too. He feels a lot of empathy for Viggo, knowing well what it feels like to be unwelcome by his own tribe.

If the kid keeps this up he's going to start crying. “Yes, thank you, Hiccup. Let's work on that after we recover enough.”

Viggo hears a soft snore next to him. True to teenager fashion, Hiccup had fallen asleep suddenly once his phantom pain ended as he did not focus on it. 

Viggo couldn't help but grin at that, noticing that his own pain had died down, leaving him feeling very exhausted, he knew he might actually get some proper sleep this time. It'd be good to try to mend some rifts. 

The talk with Hiccup had provided one important thing — a sense of closure. It confirmed things Viggo suspected and revealed things he had not expected to be true. Most importantly, it gave Viggo an idea of what to do once he’s healed, made an offer he could but likely won’t refuse. Despite everything, Hiccup still forgave him, and while forgiveness may not be the most sound of business practices, it can prove to be a valuable life practice. 

Viggo drifts off into dreamland, this time not the torrent of nightmares he's usually assaulted with, dreaming of what could have been, Hiccup and himself negotiating sharing the Dragon Eye, that dream soon blending in with him looking forward to seeing his family again. While the implications of the dream were not pleasant, it was far more welcoming than the norm. The Gods decided to be kind. 

The boy he had sworn to get rid of, the one he had attempted to kill several times, has given him a new chance to fix the life he had destroyed. 

* * *

 

Stoick eventually returned to the village after a long trek on foot from the far side of the island. The walk offered plenty of chances for him to think about what had happened and what he had done. He decides to walk up to Gothi’s hut; he might as well apologise to Viggo, even though it will likely sound hollow. It’s the thought that counts. 

Alas, or perhaps thankfully, both Hiccup and Viggo are unconscious when Stoick finally decides to visit. The Chief is all too aware of the Skrill and Night Fury in the room, both dragons seemingly asleep yet clearly awake. Even the village elder continues to look upset with her Chief, glaring him down and watching his every step, every move, every breath. 

He looks to the hunter — no, ex-hunter — laying on the cot in front of him, the man’s breathing shallow because of the tight bandages around his chest, but even. He turns to Gothi to ask her something before realising Gobber isn't there to translate for him, going back to staring blankly at the floor as he figures out what to do. 

As if sent by the Gods themselves, Gobber walks in, being a bit taken aback by his Chief being there, “Oh, Stoick, yer back.”

Stoick nods, “Aye, could you translate for me?”

Gobber waves it off. “I can translate th’ ol’ woman’s ‘andwritin’ anytime ye need me to, Chief,” he says, glad that Stoick isn’t trying to attack the ex-hunter anymore. 

He looks to Gothi, “How bad were the injuries he sustained?” he asked the old woman. She starts to scribble in the dirt, listing out the damages he sustained from Krogan and Johann but leaving out the ones Stoick gave him. For Gobber’s eyes only, she tells the smith about Viggo's badly cracked left shoulder blade, chipped right blade and broken rib, scratched lung and the damages done to two vertebrae. 

“She says ‘ere tha’ Viggo took fou’ apples t’ th’-”

Gothi smacks him one. 

“Arrows, not apples!” Gobber quickly corrects before continuing. “‘E took four arrows t’ th’ back, two t’ the upper back an’ two t’ th’ scales...” He pauses. “Huh, tha’ doesn’ seem righ’...”

Gothi whacks him again. 

“Ow! Spine!” Gobber corrects himself again, then comments under his breath, “yer writin’ ain’ what i’ used t’ be, lady…”

She holds her staff up threateningly. 

He laughs nervously, “but yer swing, ‘ard as ever!” Then, he goes back to reading, “His lung wasn’ pierced, bu’ it did get a wee bi’ scratched, an’ takin’ th’ arrows out had been dessert- no, wait, difficult. Takin’ th’ arrows out ‘ad been difficult because it risked ‘im gettin’ splinters in his spine.” He finishes off there. 

Stoick really couldn't stop the wince even if he tried, knowing that if any complications arise, it'd be his fault. He's impressed the man didn't pass out as soon as he hit the dirt. 

He looks towards Gothi, the old woman looking at him with disappointment, and the Chief knew he had a lot more to answer for. 

“Thank you, Gobber, Gothi,” he says, moving past the ex-hunter’s bed and to his son’s, making sure he's alright before beginning to leave. “Get me when either of them, though I prefer my son, wake up.” with that he leaves, taking Skullcrusher. The dragon follows him with a huff. 

Stoick considers sending word to Dragon’s Edge. It seems that their leader will not be returning to his duties for a while, not until he recovers fully and no matter how much the boy complains about being stuck on Berk. Should he ask for the riders to return to Berk, perhaps? It may be safest for them. With that in mind he flies down back to his house to begin writing the letter, and he'll leave out Viggo for now, that's better to explain in person and after he talks with his son. It'll take them well into the other day to get to Berk. 

**Author's Note:**

> SpaceKeet: So this first started off as Polska trying to write a fanfic with speech-to-text then it went to her roping me into a collab and we made this thing. You can blame the both of us for the crying.
> 
> Polska: Yeah, pretty much what Keet said. Fans of my other work, Grim Tails, may recognize some of the characters we meet down the road. Unfortunately, for this very same reason, One of Us will need to be updated slowly for now, as it may contain spoilers for Grim Tails.


End file.
